Airborne Toxic Sediment Endangers New Orlean's Residents

Interview with Wilma Subra, a McArthur award-winning environmental chemist, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Four months after Hurricane Katrina and subequent flooding put 80 percent of New Orleans under water, environmental testing shows that all those returning to the devastated parts of the city face major health risks from toxic contaminants that spread over the land and then became airborne. The Army Corps of Engineers is now planning to remove tons of sediment laced with cancer-causing chemicals from New Orleans' flooded neighborhoods. The Dallas Morning News reports that government test results show that contaminants in the sediment include toxic metals, industrial compounds, petroleum byproducts and a banned insecticide.

Wilma Subra, a Louisianan, has used her expertise as a chemist to help a number of grassroots groups throughout the state. She is president of Subra Company, an environmental consulting firm she founded in 1981. In 1999, she won a McArthur "genius" grant for her work.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus, who spent two weeks in New Orleans in November, spoke with Subra about how dangerous the contaminated soil and air are to human health, and how the government and private groups differ in their response to it.

For more information on the grassroots response to post Katrina toxic contamination, contact the Louisiana Environmental Action Network at (225) 928-1315 or visit their website at: www.leanweb.org

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